Tag Archives: USA

Energy Fuels buys up Prompt Fission Neutron tech in preparation for US uranium revival

Energy minerals, Mineral exploration, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , , , , , ,

US-based Energy Fuels Inc has entered into an agreement to acquire the Prompt Fission Neutron (PFN) technology and equipment, including all its related intellectual property, from GeoInstruments Logging LLC.

The deal will give the uranium producer the exclusive right to use, licence, and service this particular PFN technology globally, which Energy Fuels says is critical to successful uranium production, particularly from many in-situ recovery (ISR) deposits, as it more accurately measures downhole in-situ U3O8 (uranium oxide) ore grade, versus traditional Total Gamma and Spectral Gamma methods.

The PFN equipment and technology to be acquired by Energy Fuels includes four PFN tools; nine gamma tools with point resistivity, spontaneous potential and deviation; two low-mileage, heavy-duty logging trucks with logging and associated equipment; power supplies, computers, communication, and other technology; and all associated intellectual property, including all internal details of the tools, circuit board diagrams, firmware code, software, manuals, instructions, patents and the sole right to utilise and licence the acquired PFN technology globally.

The total consideration to be paid by Energy Fuels to GIL will be $500,000 in cash, with closing of the transaction expected to occur within around two weeks, after completion of a due diligence inspection of the equipment.

Energy Fuels currently has some PFN equipment in various states of repair, which it has used for its mining operations in the past, as do other companies in the US and around the world.

“With the acquisition of this additional PFN equipment and technology from GIL, Energy Fuels will not only be able to utilise the additional equipment to ramp-up production from its ISR properties more quickly and efficiently in the event of improved market conditions, it will also secure the ability to service, repair and maintain PFN equipment currently held by the company and others, as well as licence this technology to others in the future,” it said.

PFN technologies have played an important part in discovering, and bringing to production, some of the best uranium deposits in the world, according to Energy Fuels, including the Beverly and Four Mile uranium mines currently operating in South Australia. Energy Fuels’ Alta Mesa ISR project in South Texas, which produced nearly 5 MIb of U3O8 between 2005 and 2012, also deployed PFN technology while in production, the company said.

Many geologically younger ISR uranium deposits in the US, and particularly Texas, have a certain degree of disequilibrium, whereby the radioactivity measured in drill holes using traditional Total Gamma and Spectral Gamma methods does not accurately correspond to ore grade, due to the continued decay of uranium daughter products including potassium, thorium, lead and bismuth relative to radium, a significant gamma emitter, according to Energy Fuels.

“Traditionally, disequilibrium is calculated using mud rotary coring techniques and laboratory gamma and alpha spectrometry; all of which are expensive and time consuming,” it said. “Without accurate in-situ measurement of uranium, significant high-grade ore has been missed using the traditional downhole techniques.”

PFN technology solves this issue, Energy Fuels says, by instead using neutron activation to detect uranium in drill holes. The PFN tool creates very fast neutrons (14 MeV) and fires 108 neutrons per second. Therefore, the neutrons emitted by the PFN tool excite, at an atomic level, in-situ uranium atoms in the drill hole, creating fast (epithermal) neutrons and slow (thermal) neutrons.

The ratio of epithermal to thermal neutrons is proportional to uranium, allowing the U3O8 ore grade to be accurately calculated, according to the company. This provides a relatively inexpensive and instantaneous means for accurate assaying in-situ ore grades over large areas, while allowing for accurate orebody mapping, resource estimation, and wellfield planning, it said.

Mark Chalmers, President and CEO of Energy Fuels, said the acquisition will further solidify the company’s position as the leading uranium miner in the US, especially in the ISR space.

“We believe that acquiring PFN technology is now more important than ever, as we believe a revival of the US uranium industry is imminent,” he said.

On April 23, the US Nuclear Fuel Working Group (NFWG) described why the US needs healthy uranium and nuclear fuel industries in order to secure US energy and national security and prevent Russia, China and other geopolitical rivals from gaining control of global – and US – nuclear markets, he said.

“We believe the NFWG report represents the strongest US government commitment to supporting US uranium miners in decades,” Chalmers said.

The NFWG report also provided actions the US government can take to support domestic uranium mining, including creating a US uranium reserve, and potentially increasing the size of the American Assured Fuel Supply, according to Chalmers.

“In response to the NFWG Report recommendations, President Trump has already announced a budget that seeks $150 million per year over the next 10 years (totalling $1.5 billion over that timeframe) to establish a strategic uranium reserve intended ‘to provide additional assurances of availability of uranium in the event of a market disruption’,” he said.

Metso invests in Arizona repair facility after stellar 2019 results

Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , , , ,

Metso has made further investments in its Mesa repair facility in Arizona, USA, in order to, it says, optimise safety and broaden service capabilities.

The facility offers repairs and field services while supporting Metso’s Life Cycle Services contracts. It has seen steady growth since the opening in 2015, with 2019 setting a record for safety performance, revenue and profitability, according to the company.

One of the many upgrades to the facility includes the installation of “a state-of-the-art stress relief oven”. This investment was made to offer a more complete service to customers on large rebuilds, Metso said. “This will improve quality control as well as accelerate the turnaround times for our clients,” the company explained.

In addition to the stress relief oven, Mesa has also invested in other equipment to support the repair of mining screens, Wet Low Intensity Magnetic Separator (LIMS) drums, and babbitted bearings for mills.

A screen test stand has been manufactured and will be operational by the end of March, the company said. This will allow each screen rebuilt at Mesa to be test-run before being sent back out into the field, which will reduce the potential for issues during installation and start-up, according to the company.

Equipment needed to repair LIMS drums was also put in place last year and has seen a steady inflow of repairs coming from mines in the Iron Range of Minnesota, the company said.

Metso said: “In the future, the facility aims to further grow its portfolio of value-added services, to improve productivity and reduce operational costs for its clients in both the mining and aggregates sectors.”

RCT tech-agnostic automation solutions find favour in USA

Automation, Coal technology, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , ,

Having made a name for itself in Australia and elsewhere, RCT’s ControlMaster™ automation and control solution is revolutionising mining operations throughout North America, the company says.

ControlMaster is a technologically-agnostic solution with a history of managing heavy mobile mining plant on active mine sites throughout the USA, Canada and many other mines across the globe.

By utilising ControlMaster equipment, operators can manage mining plant developed by multiple manufacturers from the same operating platform, the Automation Center, RCT says. The Automation Center enables operators to manage multiple machines at once and in real time while located either on the surface of an underground mine, or in designated areas within the mine.

Once in the Automation Center, operators can access the full range of machine functions as if they were sitting in the machine’s cab, according to RCT.

“RCT is also the only supplier that has successfully implemented Multi-Fleet Select on active mine sites meaning operators can manage various machine types such as underground LHD loaders, water trucks and rockbreakers from the same secure station,” the company said.

RCT North America Operations Vice President, Clint Chapman, said the company has a strong history of developing innovative solutions that other companies have been unable to match.

“RCT is the only company with a proven history of delivering mixed, multi-fleet autonomous solutions into active mine sites in North America,” he said. “Our technology is designed to integrate seamlessly with all forms of heavy mining equipment and provide the same functionality promised by original equipment manufacturers.”

Chapman said the company can provide technical assistance on any mine site at short notice.

“We can deliver on-ground support through our experienced Field Service Technicians backed by professional support staff in our branches in Salt Lake City, in Utah, and Sudbury, in Ontario. We also have significant experience developing customised technological solutions to meet site-specific requirements and tailoring our products to operate in a range of rugged conditions often in very remote locations.”

RCT’s USA team has previously customised and commissioned its autonomous technology as part of a complex project for Alliance Resource Partners’ River View coal mine in Uniontown, Kentucky (pictured). This project involved the company retrofitting its ControlMaster Remote Dozer system (ATX2200) to Caterpillar D6T and D8R dozers that were pushing coarse coal refuse into a tailings pond at the site.

The River View underground mine uses continuous mining units employing room-and-pillar mining to extract high-sulphur coal. It is the largest mine of its type in the nation, according to Alliance Resources, with a preparation plant that has a throughput capacity of 2,449 t/h of raw coal.

RCT says it has also delivered a customised multi-fleet project for Western Contracting Corp to clear unexploded ordinance at the former army munitions facility Fort Wingate in New Mexico.

Seequent moves downstream with OreControl software partnership

Environmental, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining safety, Mining software, , , , , , ,

Seequent has partnered with OreControl Blasting Consultants, the US-based developer of OrePro 3D software, as it looks to expand its reach into the drill and blast arena.

OrePro 3D software allows geologists to model the movement of ore during blasting in order to delineate ore and waste more accurately for efficient downstream handling, according to Seequent.

“The software’s use of 3D modelling and visualisation techniques revolutionises how geologists determine ore boundaries and select dig directions, yielding significant improvements over traditional 2D methods,” the company added.

OrePro 3D embeds in a mine’s ore control process with seamless data integration with up-stream and down-stream systems, and intuitive workflows, according to the company. The software also contains a tool showing the financial impact of different mining scenarios.

Seequent’s GM Mining & Minerals, Nick Fogarty (pictured), says: “Mining companies continue to look for ways to improve their operating efficiency. By reducing ore loss and dilution, more valuable rock can be sent to the processing plant. OrePro 3D has already been adopted by many large mining companies who are using the solution to improve yields and operating efficiency, which in turn reduces the operation’s environmental impact.

He added: “This is another area where best of breed geoscience modelling techniques and 3D visualisation create value for our customers.”

William Hunt, Co-founder and President of OreControl Blasting Consultants, says: “By accurately highlighting where the pay material is located, post-blast, and then optimising dig blocks accordingly, operating efficiency and commercial returns can be dramatically improved. The value of additional recoveries after a single blast can represent an immediate return on investment and resources can also be extracted using less energy and water.”

According to Hunt, OrePro 3D can be used without direct measurement, which removes the need for transmitters and the need to put staff onto risky muck piles.

Stantec sizing up sites for Medallion’s US rare earth element extraction plant

Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mining services, , , , , , ,

Medallion Resources says it has engaged international engineering group Stantec to evaluate sites in the US for its planned rare earth element (REE) extraction plant.

The plant, which will use feedstock sourced from the southeast US, will leverage Medallion’s proprietary hydrometallurgical process to extract a REE concentrate from by-product monazite sand in a clean, safe, and automated fashion.

Medallion, after many years of test work and development, recently completed the design of this process.

Key features of the enhanced “caustic crack” REE extraction process include:

  • Full automation for low manpower requirements and worker isolation from harsh operating environments (chemical, thermal and radiological) for enhanced safety;
  • Highly-energy efficient design;
  • Option for a zero liquid discharge plant to provide additional flexibility on planning/permitting;
  • Waste production options; and
  • Employment of only “off-the-shelf” equipment — with innovations on their application.

The process design was led by Medallion’s Metallurgist Kurt Forrester, with the developmental test work performed at the Saskatchewan Research Council’s Mineral and Metallurgy Division, in addition to using input from thermodynamic model analysis and solubility testing development at the University of Toronto’s Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry Department. The test monazite feedstock was provided by a heavy-mineral sands (HMS) producer in the southeast US.

The plant’s output will be rich in  and praseodymium (or NdPr), the critical input to the rare-earth permanent magnets that power the lightweight and powerful motors required in electric vehicles (EVs), defence applications, and numerous clean technologies, according to the company.

Don Lay, President & CEO of Medallion, said: “Based on recent announcements from the US Department of Defense on funding programs for rare-earth separation and magnet stockpiling as well as automakers’ desires for non-Chinese sources of NdPr, we’re taking this important step toward production.”

The proposed US-based REE plant has a small footprint and capital costs that are a fraction of the traditional REE mining and processing facilities, according to Medallion. “This provides a quick pathway to production of rare-earth products for domestic markets,” the company said.

The company said its plant location will be a “modern chemical processing setting with top-tier environmental standards and employ highly trained technicians”. The evaluation also covers both upstream and downstream logistics options related to the transport of monazite feedstock, reagents, produced concentrates and waste material.

Medallion plans to extract REEs from monazite tailing streams, which are a by-product of the HMS industry, with sources in the US, South America, Africa, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

“Medallion has established relationships with many HMS firms to coordinate upgrading potential, volumes and timing of available material,” it said.

Jennmar to become US underground coal rail and tie component leader

Coal technology, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , ,

Jennmar, a subsidiary of Frank Calandra Inc, says it has acquired the Vossloh track, tie and rail accessory inventory from Atlantic Track.

Along with the entire mining inventory, Jennmar has purchased all machinery necessary to support Vossloh’s current mining business consisting of rail, tie and rail straightening capabilities, it said.

Tony Calandra, Group President of Frank Calandra Inc and Calandra Group LLC, said the acquisition made Jennmar the “premier provider” of rail and tie components for the underground coal market in the USA.

Michael Calandra, Executive Vice President of Frank Calandra Inc, said Jennmar will continue to offer the same services with enhanced resources and capabilities.

“This will not affect or delay any current business. We will honour all existing POs that were issued to Vossloh Track Materials prior to January 1, 2020,” he added.

Excelsior’s Gunnison ISR copper mine coming to life

Base metals, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, , , , , ,

Excelsior Mining says it has successfully commenced mining operations at its Gunnison in-situ recovery copper project in southern Arizona, USA.

Following a commissioning program that had been ongoing for several weeks, regulatory approval to commence mining operations through the injection of acid was recently received from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Delivery of mining fluids to the copper orebody has since commenced with fluids now circulating through a closed-loop system until the concentration of copper held in solution meets sufficient grade to be treated through the Johnson Camp processing facilities. This will lead to extraction of copper and the production of cathode sheets.

Excelsior said first copper cathode sales were expected in the March quarter.

Stephen Twyerould, President & CEO, said: “Following on the heels of the successful completion of the construction phase, mining operations at the Gunnison copper project are now underway. We remain absolutely confident in our capacity to deliver low-cost copper production while maintaining our commitment to safety and the environment.”

Mark J Morabito, Excelsior’s Chairman, said he and the board looked forward to continuing the ramp up of existing operations in 2020 and laying the groundwork for future expansion to Gunnison’s full production capacity of 125 million pounds (56,999 t) of production per year.

Gunnison’s initial capital cost was estimated at $49 million, with the mine expected to produce 2,200 MIb of copper cathode over a 24-year life.

Primero Group to take on EPC contract at Rio’s Koodaideri iron ore mine

Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

Primero Group has secured a A$115 million ($79 million) contract with Rio Tinto’s iron ore division that will see it design, fabricate, supply, deliver, construct, install, test and commission the Mine Infrastructure Area and associated facilities at the Koodaideri iron ore project in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The scope includes the complete engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract of the facilities for this project, which will commence immediately and is scheduled to be completed in mid-2021.

Primero says it expects to employ a workforce of over 150 personnel at its peak.

Koodaideri, billed by Rio as an “intelligent mine”, will deliver a new production hub for Rio’s iron ore business in the Pilbara, incorporating a processing plant and infrastructure including a 166 km rail line connecting the mine to the existing network.

Construction on Koodaideri Phase 1 started this year with first production expected in late 2021. Once complete, the mine will have an annual capacity of 43 Mt, underpinning production of the company’s flagship iron ore product, Pilbara Blend.

In addition to mine infrastructure and the accommodation camp, an airport and mine support facilities will be built. Throughout the construction period, Rio expects to employ over 2,000 people with 600 permanent roles created once the mine is operational.

In addition to the Koodaideri work, Primero said it had been awarded Phase 2 of the proposed processing upgrade, on an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) basis, for Northern Star Resources’ Pogo gold mine, in Alaska, USA.

The works will be conducted predominantly from Primero’s Americas Montreal (Canada) office with works progressively executed this winter to ensure construction windows are met in the summer period, it said.

The upgrade works will increase throughput of the current processing facility from 1 Mt/y to 1.3 Mt/y by January 2021, with the potential to move to a Phase 3 (1.5 Mt/y) over the coming years.

Primero said: “Works are set to progress over the next 12 months including detailed design and equipment procurement with the planning for on-site works commencing over the winter period to be executed in the warmer months, post winter.”

The award of the project is the first major contract with Northern Star Resources, Primero added.

Northern Star acquired Pogo, the company’s first mine outside of Australia, from Sumitomo Metal Mining late last year for $260 million.

NioCorp adds Zachry Group to EPC mix at Elk Creek project

Energy minerals, Mining services, , , , ,

NioCorp Developments says it has selected Zachry Group as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm for the surface processing facilities and associated infrastructure of the proposed Elk Creek Superalloy Material project, in Nebraska, USA.

The agreement, subject to the completion of EPC contract negotiations, comes on top of NioCorp selecting Cementation USA as the lead EPC contractor for the underground aspects of Elk Creek as well as saying it intended to engage The Nordmin Group of Companies to provide engineering services for the project.

The development of the project will require significant additional capital above what NioCorp has raised to date, the company said, adding that “any significant work on the project pursuant to an agreement with Zachry will be contingent on obtaining sufficient project financing, if and when available”.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, and with an engineering office in Omaha, Nebraska, Zachry has been engaged on the project since 2014 and is currently working under an Engineering Services Agreement with NioCorp.

Wood’s cobalt and copper refining expertise tapped for Jervois ICO project

Base metals, Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

Having recently sewn up the lead engineers for finalisation of a bankable feasibility study (BFS) at its 100%-owned ICO cobalt-copper project in Idaho, US, Jervois Mining has selected Wood as its preferred engineering contractor to progress the refinery scoping study at the project.

The ICO, planned to be the only domestic cobalt mine within the US, is expected to commence commercial concentrate production in the second half of 2021.

Jervois said Wood has expertise in the refining of sulphide concentrates through to both battery-grade crystal and refined LME copper and 99.8% LMB cobalt metal, which will be of use in this study. The company said: “Wood is well placed to lead the engineering study which includes an initial high-level review of commercially available technology for the refining of sulphide concentrates through to metal.”

Battery recycling technology and third-party feed processing will also be considered to highlight future market opportunities that may enhance the refineries strategic importance within the US and further improve the economic returns, Jervois said.

Mineralogy and metallurgical test work progressing at SGS will optimise the selective cobalt concentrate chemical characteristics and be applied in the flowsheet options study.

“As part of the current feasibility study being led by DRA and M3, preliminary results obtained from the SGS test work have achieved satisfactory separation and selectivity between copper and cobalt,” Jervois said, adding that locked cycle tests are planned to define the improved selectivity.

The Wood refinery study will be completed during the March quarter in conjunction with the previously announced feasibility study to concentrate.